How high are the carbon emissions from flying, compared to other forms of consumption?

Date added: November 23, 2013

Carbon footprints of manufacture of products, and their life cycle carbon footprints, are not easy to measure – and there are a limited number of figures around. Calculations are complicated, and there are huge numbers of variables and imponderables. But it is illuminating to compare the carbon emissions of some of our regular consumption items. For example, taking the emissions from one person flying, return (including the non-CO2 impacts) from London to Rome, economy class – that is approximately equivalent to leaving a 20 watt light bulb on, all the time, for over 5 years. Or buying more than 500 loaves of bread. Or buying around 500 pints on beer in the pub. Or buying a £600 gold and diamond necklace. Or the manufacturing emissions of making a new laptop computer. Or about a quarter of the average UK household’s use of electricity for a year. One person flying return, economy class, to New York would be about the same emissions as 760 machine loads of clothes washed, and dried in a dryer. Or about the same as the electricity to power a modern laptop for 8 hours a day, for 18 years. Or getting on for half of the average UK home’s gas usage, or almost the average UK home’s electricity usage.
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How high carbon is flying, compared to other forms of consumption?

Carbon footprints of products, and their life cycle carbon footprints, are not easy to measure – and there are a limited number of figures around. Calculations are complicated, and there are huge numbers of variables and imponderables.